Gouverneur Morris Jr.

Who was Gouverneur Morris Jr.?

Gouverneur Morris Jr. was the son of a founding father of the United States, Gouverneur Morris, and of Anne Cary Randolph. He married Martha Jefferson Cary, daughter of Wilson Jefferson Cary, and Virginia Randolph Cary.

Morris was one of the major entrepreneurs of the 19th century Bronx. As Vice President of the New York and Harlem River Railroad, he built the railroad now running along Park Avenue in New York City. In 1840, he donated the St. Ann's Church Complex as a memorial. He promoted Port Morris as a commercial port, and donated land to skilled workers in 1848, to create an ideal workingman’s village if it were called Morrisania. That is today’s Morrisania neighborhood. He spent much of the later part of his career in Vermont, as president of the Vermont Valley Railroad.

He wasn't as active in politics as his famous father, but he was a founder of the Republican Party and attended its opening convention in 1854.